


No Truth Left Unseen

by 8NightLight8



Series: My Demons and Your Lullaby [5]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Also there is a funny robot?, And they get revealed..., Angst, But Angst Angst Angst!, Emotional Baggage, Father-Son Relationship, Flashbacks, Irondad, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has Secrets, Young Peter Parker, fluffy flashbacks, spiderson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-25
Updated: 2018-08-25
Packaged: 2019-07-02 09:51:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15794079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/8NightLight8/pseuds/8NightLight8
Summary: This is a nightmare, Peter thought. Please, please let it all be a nightmare… But he wasn’t dreaming, he knew. The pain he felt proved that. And his whole wide world really did come to an end just a little less than an hour ago.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story is a part of a series and I highly recommend reading the previous parts first! Only then you will be able to understand this work fully… Oh and this piece is set a day after Peter’s 10th birthday. :)

Peter's fist collided with the wall at an unearthly speed. The impact was hazardous, deadly and yet the boy didn’t falter, didn’t even flinch, continuing to rampage with blood dripping slowly from his broken knuckles. The shelves got broken one by one, Lego sets crashing onto the floor and scattering their pieces around like sparks jumping from the fire. The air in the room was hot, suffocating. It was trying to dry the tears running down Peter’s cheeks almost desperately, but every time it almost succeeded a new salty drop prevented it from its goal.

The boy could hardly hear the sound of glass breaking, even though it shot through the air loudly. Picture frames fell from his nightstand one by one, sharing the faith of the Lego sets without even being spared a glance. He couldn’t watch them right now, couldn’t. The heavy weight of the pendant around his neck was damaging enough. One of his palms was clutching it tightly through his shirt, making sure that the cold stone never came in contact with his skin.

He broke the glass of the next picture frame with his fist and observed small pieces of glass which stuck into the back of his palm with interest for a short second before reaching for the next photo, but his body froze before his fingers even came into contact with the bright orange frame. May. May was smiling at him, her long brown hair falling loosely over the side of her neck as she bent forward to softly ruffle the messy hair of a young boy, who was hugging her leg.

Peter’s legs gave out. A sting shot through his knees as they landed on the messy floor and a sob left his mouth as he hugged the photo close to his chest. It was getting even harder for him to breathe now, when the pain finally managed to get a hold of his soul. The whole of his body was shaking with shock.

_This is a nightmare,_ he thought. _Please, please let it all be a nightmare…_ But he wasn’t dreaming, he knew. The pain he felt proved that. And his whole wide world really did come to an end just a little less than an hour ago.

***

It was half past ten when Peter finally managed to escape from his dad’s famous post-birthday breakfast of waffles, but he was still grinning widely when he set his foot on the 82nd floor, which was, among other things, home to the research and development higher interns’ team.

The hart-shaped pendant hidden safely underneath his t-shirt slapped against his chest a bit with every step he took, reminding him of the day before. Of Tony’s laugh echoing through the living room. Of how Ned’s eyes widened drastically and his grip on the plastic green light saver loosened, when he took him down here and the people walking past them all knew his name. Of the big smile on Uncle Rhodey’s face which never faltered as his eyes darted between his dad and Pepper, who got invited to their family dinner for the first time, throughout the evening. Of Happy looking at him smugly, when he pulled a kid’s sized Stark Tower Security jacket over his shoulders excitedly. Of Bree waiting for him at the reception with a whole box of home-made cookies. Of the three-story chocolate cake. Of the table laden with his favourite foods. Of the humongous pile of presents. Of nothing but happiness.

A few engineers who he only knew by sight greeted him with a kind ‘happy belayed birthday’ when he walked past and he thanked them without slowing his pace, eager to reach his destination quickly. The floor was quite crowded for a Saturday morning, he noticed, but a few of the tables and rooms still remained empty. He really hoped that Ashton and Lena were in today; the lab always felt a little empty without their constant bickering.

A smile on Peter’s face widened when he turned the corner. The intern’s lab was far smaller than Tony’s, but it was almost as familiar to the boy as the one in the penthouse. Mental pieces and tools lay across the tables and the smell of leftover pizza was forever present in the air. Three of the computer screens were on, but only Gaby was actually working, as Lena and Ash tinkered with an old household robot, which was practically falling to pieces. The boy’s working station was tidy as always, only a Star-Wars mug and a few colourful helium balloons tied to it waiting for him on the glass surface. The flat-screen TV in the corner was set to one of the news channels, but nobody paid any attention to the presenter who was currently prating about the weather.

“It couldn’t seriously have been the pump, Ash. For it to start acting that way there was definitely a problem with the sensors…”

“So the sensors caused it to throw up all over the oblivious grandma? What do you think they malfunctioned to? Shower mode?”

“Um, what exactly happened?” Peter asked when he got closer to the pair, whose eyes twinkled in greeting.

“Well that’s a fine question, young padawan.” Ashton punched his shoulder just hard enough for him to lose his balance and come crashing into Lena’s side only to be ambushed by a quick hug. “And old grandma bought this cutie a few years ago to help her around the house a bit. Vacuum, take the trash out… All that stuff. But apparently a week ago the little thing broke. He threw a potful of mushroom soup back at her after sucking it from the floor, messed up the apartment and then threw himself down the stairs. Now Lena thinks that the problem was the bug which messed with the sensors, but it only could have been the pump since…”

The boy stopped listening a specific word from the telly caught his attention. The Accords. They were taking about the Accords.

“…But the documents, which were anonymously sent to a newspaper this morning, seem to contain a secret government law, which only deals with the American residents. They reveal that since the accords were signed, the government agents were actively searching for minors with powers, taking them from their parents and to a special facility. The paragraph which discusses what is going on at the secret location states that ‘the children receive high school education and medical attention’ all the while learning how to use their abilities in combat. The response of the countries who signed the Accords as well is of course very negative, from the Canadian prime minister calling the program unethical to the European union stating that the accords were signed to avoid war, not to help build a private army. On the line we have the United States Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross, who is one of the heads of the program.” A picture of a silver haired man appeared on the screen, but the ringing in Peter’s ears was too loud to even hear his hello. His heart was beating far too fast and the boy flinched when a hand landed on his shoulder.

“Hey, you okay?” Ash and Lena were staring at him worriedly, but he could only manage a stumbling step back and a muted ‘I’ve got to go’ before he was running.

F.R.I.D.A.Y. didn’t even ask him where he wanted to go, probably sensing his distress as he held on to one of the sides of the elevator for his dear life. He needed to see his dad. _Now_.

He started to sprint as soon as the white steel door opened again, heading for the lab immediately, but he still managed to get himself to slow down a bit before he went flying into Tony. He didn’t even notice that he was shaking until the warm, rough hands he knew so well came to rest on his back.

“Pete?” His dad sounded confused.

“We’ve got to go. We have got to go _now_.” The boy whispered into the man’s working shirt, his words coming out broken due to his raged breathing. “They will figure what happened,” he continued still, even when a sob shook trough him. “They will take me…”

The hands on his back tensed. “They won’t.” His dad’s voice was quiet, but the undisguised certainty in it caused the boy to shiver.

He took a quick step back, the warmth of his father’s embrace suddenly becoming sickening as the hairs on the back of his neck suddenly stood to attention. “You knew?” 

The man’s gaze was fixed to the random spot on the floor. His head was bowed and there wasn’t a shadow of his usually perfect posture. His silence could be taken as an answer, but the boy was having none of that.

“You knew?!” He shouted, his own voice’s loudness causing pain to his ears. “You knew and you never did anything?!”

Tony’s eyes found Peter’s slowly, but they were empty, dead. “I did.”  He laid his words out flatly, almost robotically and if the wrinkles on his forehead weren’t there the boy would think that there was no emotion hidden behind the man’s mask at all. “But you don’t understand,” Peter could see his dad’s hands shaking now. “I had to protect you- I..”

“What did you do?” All the boy could do was whisper as he saw the man starting to break down slowly in front of him. He was afraid to hear the answer, but he had to. He _had_ to. “What did you do?!”

Tony winced. “There’s a deal.” He said, his voice wavering. “I have to work with them on security. Give them as much money as they say…”

Peter could feel the tears streaming down his face when he backed up slowly, shaking his head in disbelief. “But you wouldn’t.” He reasoned. “You _wouldn’t._ ”

His dad only looked at him with sadness and yet his next words were strong, breaking the boy’s heart with the truth he already knew. “I would do anything to keep you safe.”


	2. Chapter 2

Tony didn’t know how long he has been sitting there for, listening to the sounds coming from his son’s bedroom with his back pressed against the cold wall between them. His elbows still rested on his knees and his eyes remained closed although the silence hasn’t been broken by the boy for some time now and his need to pull at his hair aggressively has gone. He could practically feel the first aid kit which stood at his feet, but knew that opening the kid’s door would only make things worse. It was quite clear to him that he had lost control earlier and the last thing he wanted was to be the cause of Peter’s next panic attack.

His thoughts were racing through his head and he found himself swimming through the years every few moments, his surroundings changing completely. It was a tortuous occurrence, showing him over and over what he had just lost.

He was kneeling on a fluffy bathroom carpet now, peeling a plaster carefully from four and a half year old Peter’s calf, while he sat on a closed toilet seat in his iron-man’s pyjamas. It was Easter day, Tony knew, and the boy fell nastily during the morning egg hunt somewhere in Spain, scraping the skin of his leg off on a sharp rock. Nothing like this has ever really happened before, since Peter has been with him, and all the man could do was hope that he handled things right.

He had a disinfectant wipe ready in his other hand, but when the plaster finally came of both he and Peter gaped at the perfectly healed skin that was previously hidden beneath it. There was not even a scar left… It was like the fall never even happened. Tony’s eyes moved from the bloody plater in his hand to the leg rapidly, before settling on the boy who was looking at him in awe with surprise and seamless admiration shining from his big brown orbs.

“You kissed it better.” He said quietly, his voice still rough from disuse, but making the man smile all the same. It was a little less than a week ago since he heard the boy speak for the first time and these moments were the ones he cherished the most…

But he still wasn’t the superhero the boy made him be. “I did, kiddo,” he said slowly, letting Peter down gently. “But I think that was all you.”

 _That was the first time I broke an image that he had of me_ , Tony though when he found himself staring at the penthouse living room again. _And today was probably the last._

It was almost like he was waiting to hear the footsteps on the other side of the wall forever and yet he still wasn’t ready when they came. The door on his right opened and his blood ran cold. Peter’s knuckles were covered with dried blood, but the dark red substance still flowed steadily from the wounds created by see-trough glass pieces still piercing his son’s skin, creating tiny trails before finding its fastest way to the floor. At least ten shards stuck out of his knees and calves.

Tony reached for the boy’s hand on instinct, only for the pain to shoot trough him when Peter leaned back. He should have anticipated that, really, the man knew, but it still hurt. He retreated instantly. “I-I can call Rhodey…”

“It’s fine.” Peter dismissed him instantly, before picking up the first aid kit. “I can do it myself.”

“I… um…”  He just stood there for a moment, but then seemingly found the strength to continue. “I need to know everything.”

Tony nodded. He expected that much. “I will wait for you in the lab.”

***

“I was sitting here when I got your call,” Tony started, avoiding the strict gaze of the boy who sat right across from him. There was nothing childlike about him now and that scared the man profoundly. “I… Wasn’t okay after I returned from Siberia. I moved from the Avengers’ place right after, but that didn’t really help. I couldn’t really do anything; just stare at the walls for hours. I mean I though at lot, but that was it. Hearing your voice was a revelation. It woke me up. I knew you needed help and I had to get to you immediately.”

He looked at Peter, only to see that his eyes hadn’t softened at all.

“The car-ride back was hellish,” he continued, thoughtfully skipping the part of the story Peter rarely wanted to talk about. “I have never seen someone be in so much pain before and your senses were heightened…. I-I didn’t know what to do, but you just clung to me so I clung right back…. You fell asleep on me about half an hour after we arrived to the penthouse and I made the decision to keep you immediately.” Tony paused for a bit.

“I think I needed you just as much as you needed me in that moment. I wanted this life. I wanted it _so bad_ … Then Ross called. Your phone call with Bree got caught on his radar and when he didn’t find you at May’s... If he wasn’t sure by then, he must have just asked the neighbours if they saw anything since I really didn’t give a damn about being discreet when I was coming to get you. He knew that you were with me. He… He told me about the part of the American Accords I didn’t know I signed and he _ordered me_ to hand you over… But I couldn’t do that. I _couldn’t_.” He realized that he has been squeezing his fist so hard that a few of his nails almost drew some blood and released it with a sigh, allowing his fingers to claw at the top of his head instead.

“I threatened him that I would tell the world about his precious program if even one of his men set his foot in this building. He tried telling me that it wouldn’t matter, but I could hear that he was scarred. He called me back with a deal less than half an hour later. The government approved it.”

Tony looked a Peter, but the boy only nodded for him to continue, the same hard expression still resting on his face. The man took a breath.

“They allowed you to stay with me and I managed to shuck of their idea of me sending them monthly reports on the development of your abilities, but I had to sign a contract the next day binding me that you would have to decide whether you were going to sing the Accords by the time you turned fourteen. And of course that wasn’t all they wanted. They were afraid of the whole thing being revealed now, so they came up with the perfect plan and used my reputation against me. I had to send them security equipment, give them a certain amount of money every year… How could I ever speak out about something when they could just show the documents to everyone and convince them that I supported the government’s cause? They knew that I would never reveal the deal we made because of your little secret. They played on the fact that I would want to keep you safe.”

“So what changed?” There was genuine curiosity in the boy’s voice now.

Tony huffed. “I thought I could live with everything. I couldn’t. I don’t think I ever really could, but in summer it just all got too much…” He ran his hands down his face before speaking again. “I had F.R.I.D.A.Y. inform me about the things they were doing, about every new kid that they got. And in summer while we were away… They brought in a girl called Alice Wilson. She is the first person in there who is younger then you. They… They killed her parents and I just kept thinking back to when you were seven and I… I broke. I messed up as a dad for the first time and I realized that I wasn’t able to keep doing this anymore. I was losing you already and I needed to do _something_. So I just… I anonymously released the documents today.”

The boy frowned at him. “But that won’t change anything. They will use the fact that you helped them to convince the public that their program is necessary. It won’t be enough.”

The man forced out a laugh. “Never though you would start underestimating the democracy so early, kiddo.”

Peter looked down. “They will forget about the whole thing in a month.”

The left corner of Tony’s mouth lifted in a tired half-smile. “Not if we keep giving them something to talk about.”

**Author's Note:**

> Dun dun duuun! All the secrets are out… So what do you guys think? Please let me know in the comments or come talk to me on Tumblr, my URL is 8night-light8. <3


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